Riesling

Riesling is an aromatic white grape best known from Germany, producing everything from bone-dry wines to intensely sweet dessert styles. Expect lime, green apple and peach with floral and mineral notes. Its brilliant acidity makes it a dream with sushi, seafood, pork, spicy curry, Thai food and fruit-based desserts.

Taste:

Fresh, fragrant and impossible to squeeze into one box.

Riesling can be dry, off-dry or sweet, but one thing stays remarkably consistent: high, refreshing acidity. Expect lime, lemon and green apple alongside peach, apricot and floral aromas, often with a distinctive stony or mineral character.

Riper and sweeter styles can bring honey and tropical fruit into the mix, while aged Riesling can develop a famously unusual aroma often described as petrol or kerosene. It sounds questionable. Riesling fans get very excited about it.

The sweetness level makes a huge difference, so checking the label before choosing your bottle is always worthwhile.

Dry or sweet, light or rich, young or decades old. Riesling likes options.

Food Pairings:

Riesling is one of the most versatile wines around food, particularly when spice gets involved.

Dry Riesling is brilliant with seafood, including prawns, crab, mussels, oysters, grilled fish, sea bass and cod. Sushi, sashimi and seafood salads work beautifully too.

For meat, try roast pork, pork belly, sausages, roast chicken or grilled chicken.

Off-dry Riesling is where spicy food really comes into play. Pair it with Thai green curry, Thai red curry, chicken curry, spicy noodles, Vietnamese food, Chinese stir-fry or dishes featuring chilli, ginger and aromatic spices. A little sweetness can help balance the heat while all that acidity keeps things fresh.

Sweeter Riesling works brilliantly with apple tart, peach desserts, apricot desserts, cheesecake and fruit-based desserts, as well as blue cheese.

Similar Wines:

If you enjoy Riesling, Kerner is a great next move for another German white combining bright acidity with peachy, aromatic fruit.

Gewürztraminer turns the floral and exotic flavours up considerably, while Scheurebe offers grapefruit, blackcurrant and tropical fruit in styles ranging from dry to sweet.

Grüner Veltliner is worth exploring if it's dry Riesling's freshness, acidity and food-friendliness that you love most.

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More About Riesling:

Riesling is most closely associated with Germany, particularly regions such as the Mosel, Rheingau and Pfalz, but it's also important in Alsace, Austria, Australia and several other cool-climate wine regions.

German Riesling labels can give you clues about both ripeness and style, although they aren't always the easiest thing to decode at first glance. Terms such as Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese relate to the ripeness or must weight of the grapes at harvest rather than simply telling you how sweet the finished wine will be.

Riesling's naturally high acidity also gives top examples remarkable ageing potential, including sweet wines that can develop for decades.

And no, Riesling isn't automatically sweet.

That rumour has been doing overtime.